The Mathis Pirates will look to defend their home field on Monday against the Aransas Pass Panthers at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Mathis has six straight wins, Aransas Pass has 11 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
After a 14-11 finish the last time they played, Mathis and Odem decided to play a little more cautiously this time around. Mathis skirted past Odem 3-1.
Ashton Quesada spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered one run (which was unearned) on two hits and racked up 12 Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Mathis' victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Savion Nixon, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI. Duke Bernal was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Aransas Pass fell victim to George West and their airtight pitching crew on Friday. Their tough 15-0 loss to the Longhorns might stick with them for a while.
Aransas Pass saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was JJ Garza, who went 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
Even though they lost, Aransas Pass didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with nine strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Mathis is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season. As for Aransas Pass, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-14.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Monday as neither team is afraid to steal. Mathis has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Aransas Pass struggles in that department as they've been averaging 3.1 per game. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Mathis' way against Aransas Pass when the teams last played back in April of 2023 as Mathis made off with a 14-4 win. Does Mathis have another victory up their sleeve, or will Aransas Pass turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
